Svitlana Bilous, a 34-year-old from the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, has traveled halfway across Europe to stand on the sidelines of an international peace summit in Switzerland. She is there to tell the world about her missing husband, one of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers who have disappeared on the battlefield since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
Bilous has had no information on her husband since he went missing in April last year, but she holds on to the hope that he is alive. She is one of scores of relatives of Ukrainian soldiers who have gathered in Buergenstock, near Lucerne, for the summit. They are waving banners and shouting slogans, trying to raise awareness of the plight of their loved ones.
Many of the families do not know if their loved ones have been killed or taken by Russia as prisoners of war. Russia has repeatedly denied carrying out war crimes in Ukraine, including the torture of PoWs. It says its forces are careful to comply with international law. Cases where Russian soldiers are alleged to have committed serious crimes in Ukraine have been and continue to be prosecuted by Russian courts, it says.
The families want the other world powers at the summit to find ways to press Moscow to hand over information, improve the conditions of any captives, and send them home as soon as possible.
“I must do everything in my power to get my husband back,” Bilous told Reuters as officials arrived ahead of the summit. “We want specific actions regarding the return of prisoners of war (and) admission of the International Committee of the Red Cross to all places of detention.”
Ukrainian officials said in February that about 8,000 people – civilians and soldiers – are in Russian hands. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) says it is trying to get information on the fate of 28,000 people – soldiers and civilians on both sides – who have lost contact with their families.
The banners carried by Bilous and fellow protesters read “Stop Russia torturing and killing Ukrainian PoWs” and “Russia is hiding Ukrainian PoWs”.
Russia and Ukraine are both signatories to the Geneva Conventions covering the treatment of prisoners. However, the families say that Russia is not adhering to the conventions and that their loved ones are being held in horrific conditions.
“We want to remind the world that Russia is not adhering to the Geneva Convention when dealing with Ukrainian prisoners of war who are being held in horrific conditions,” said Sasha Volkov, a board member of the Ukrainian Society of Switzerland, which is organizing a side event at the summit.
After the conference, the families will travel to Geneva to meet officials from the ICRC. The global organization has said it has received “concerning reports of torture and killing of POWs” and has demanded information on and access to any prisoners held.
“Not knowing what happened to a loved one is excruciating, and these families – all families – have the right to know what happened to their relative,” said ICRC spokesman Jason Straziuso.
